Happy Pride Month! Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is proud to fly the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag and celebrate the diversity and resilience of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community throughout the month of June. We recognize the ongoing inequities faced by gender and sexually diverse individuals, particularly within the health care system. TBRHSC’s 2SLGBTQQIA+ Subcommittee and Pride Working Group, on behalf of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee invite you to celebrate Pride, and work towards a more inclusive future for 2SLGBTQQIA+ patients, families, staff, and community members. TBRHSC is committed to integrating equity, diversity, and inclusion into our patient care, as emphasized in our Strategic Plan 2026.
What do the colours of the Pride flag represent?
The Pride flag is one of the most recognized symbols of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community. First created by Gilbert Baker in 1978, the original Pride flag featured eight colours: hot pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue, and purple.
Since its inception, the Pride flag has undergone many changes. This includes the removal of the pink and turquoise stripes, followed by the addition of black and brown stripes to represent communities of colour, with black also representing the lives lost during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Light blue, pink, and white were subsequently added to represent the Trans community; and a purple circle on a yellow background represents the Intersex community.
The current Pride flag is the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag, which was developed in 2021 by Valentino Vecchietti. The six rainbow colours represent:
- Red: Life
- Orange: Healing
- Yellow: Sunlight
- Green: Nature
- Blue: Serenity
- Purple: Spirit
To learn more about the history of the Pride flag, please go to the Human Rights Campaign at: https://www.hrc.org/resources/lgbtq-pride-flags